Totak is a
lake
A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...
in
Vinje Municipality
Vinje is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Vest-Telemark which is part of Øvre Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Åmot. Other villages in the munic ...
in
Telemark
Telemark () is a Counties of Norway, county and a current electoral district in Norway. Telemark borders the counties of Vestfold, Buskerud, Vestland, Rogaland and Agder. In 2020, Telemark merged with the county of Vestfold to form the county o ...
county,
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
. The lake is located in the
Rauland
Rauland is a former municipality in Telemark county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1860 until its dissolution in 1964. The area is now part of Vinje Municipality. The administrative centre was the village of Raulandsgrend (also known ...
area, about to the north of the village of
Ã…mot. The lake is part of the Skien river
watershed (''
Skiensvassdraget''), discharging via the river
Tokke
Tokke is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Vest-Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Dal ...
which flows into the lake
Bandak to the south. At deep, Totak is the 11th deepest lake in Norway. This tremendous
overdeepening
Overdeepening is a characteristic of Depression (geology), basins and valleys eroded by glaciers. An overdeepened valley profile is often eroded to depths which are hundreds of metres below the lowest continuous surface line (the thalweg) along a ...
marks it as a glacially formed lake with characteristics similar to a
fjord
In physical geography, a fjord (also spelled fiord in New Zealand English; ) is a long, narrow sea inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Antarctica, the Arctic, and surrounding landmasses of the n ...
. Its volume of makes it the 24th largest by volume as well. Totak is Norway's deepest lake that is not a
cryptodepression
A cryptodepression is a depression in the Earth's surface that is below mean sea level, and which is filled by a lake. The term is derived from the Ancient Greek word ("hidden") and depression.
Description
A cryptodepression is often the r ...
. The lake's basin is well over sealevel. The lake is a reservoir that holds water for the
Tokke Hydroelectric Power Station.
Media gallery
Lake Totak, Telemark (2695474132).jpg
Sporaneset.JPG
Summer landscape Telemark (2690578882) - cropped.jpg
Totak, east part, looking west from Fylkesveg 362 near Krossen.jpg
Totak.jpg
See also
*
List of lakes in Norway
This is a list of lakes and reservoirs in Norway, sorted by Counties of Norway, county.
For the geography and history of lakes in that country, see Lakes in Norway, including:
*Lakes in Norway#Largest lakes, List of largest lakes in Norway
*L ...
References
Vinje
Lakes of Telemark
{{Norway-lake-stub